LAPD Plan To Pinpoint Muslims Draws Fire
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses a summit of the Alliance of Civilizations, a forum promoting understanding between the Western and Islamic worlds, in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, May 31, 2012. Ban called on Syria Thursday to stop its attacks, saying U.N. observers monitoring the cease-fire were not there to watch the killing of innocent people, days after more than 100 people were massacred in Syria's central Houla region.(AP Photo)
The Police Department wants to map the city's Muslim communities in order to pinpoint their potential for housing terrorist cells but the idea has drawn criticism from activists who call it racial profiling.
The LAPD's counterterrorism bureau plans to identify the location of Muslim enclaves in Los Angeles in order to determine which might be likely to become isolated and susceptible to "violent, ideologically-based extremism," Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing said Thursday.
"We want to know where the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens are so we can reach out to those communities," said Downing, who heads the counterterrorism bureau.
Downing said the plan is still in its early stages but the LAPD wants to work with a Muslim partner and intends to have the data assembled by the University of Southern California's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis.
Downing testified about the plan before a U.S. Senate committee on Oct. 30.
"It has nothing to do with racial profiling," Downing told Claudia Peschiutta of CBS radio station KNX. "We're trying to determine country of origin, language, socio-economic conditions, age, gender demographics.
"We're really trying just to better understand so that we can respond and understand how Islam expresses itself in Los Angeles."
There are an estimated 500,000 Muslims in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.
"This is nothing short of racial profiling," ACLU Executive Director Ramona Ripston told the Los Angeles Times.
"Singling out individuals for investigation, surveillance, and data-gathering based on their religion constitutes religious profiling that is just as unlawful, ill-advised and deeply offensive as racial profiling," said the letter.
It was signed by representatives of the ACLU of Southern California; Muslim Advocates, a national association of Muslim lawyers; the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The plan "basically turns the LAPD officers into religious political analysts, while their role is to fight crime and enforce the laws," said Hussam Ayloush, head of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who signed the letter.
"We obviously reject this idea of demonizing a group of people by virtue of mapping them," Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, told KNX.
However, another group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, is considering working with the LAPD on the project.
"We will work with the LAPD and give them input, while at the same time making sure that people's civil liberties are protected," said Salam al-Marayati, the council's executive director.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The LAPD's counterterrorism bureau plans to identify the location of Muslim enclaves in Los Angeles in order to determine which might be likely to become isolated and susceptible to "violent, ideologically-based extremism," Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing said Thursday.
"We want to know where the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens are so we can reach out to those communities," said Downing, who heads the counterterrorism bureau.
Downing said the plan is still in its early stages but the LAPD wants to work with a Muslim partner and intends to have the data assembled by the University of Southern California's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis.
Downing testified about the plan before a U.S. Senate committee on Oct. 30.
"It has nothing to do with racial profiling," Downing told Claudia Peschiutta of CBS radio station KNX. "We're trying to determine country of origin, language, socio-economic conditions, age, gender demographics.
"We're really trying just to better understand so that we can respond and understand how Islam expresses itself in Los Angeles."
There are an estimated 500,000 Muslims in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.
"This is nothing short of racial profiling," ACLU Executive Director Ramona Ripston told the Los Angeles Times.
On Thursday, several Muslim groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sent Downing a letter expressing "grave concerns" about the program.
"Singling out individuals for investigation, surveillance, and data-gathering based on their religion constitutes religious profiling that is just as unlawful, ill-advised and deeply offensive as racial profiling," said the letter.
It was signed by representatives of the ACLU of Southern California; Muslim Advocates, a national association of Muslim lawyers; the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The plan "basically turns the LAPD officers into religious political analysts, while their role is to fight crime and enforce the laws," said Hussam Ayloush, head of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who signed the letter.
"We obviously reject this idea of demonizing a group of people by virtue of mapping them," Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, told KNX.
However, another group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, is considering working with the LAPD on the project.
"We will work with the LAPD and give them input, while at the same time making sure that people's civil liberties are protected," said Salam al-Marayati, the council's executive director.
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Posted by andor3 at 12:45 PM : Nov 10, 2007
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I am not a christian nor a catholic nor jewish BUT THE FU ck are people always trying to justify these radical muslims because they have christians??
the day these christians tell me and puts a gun to my head and tell me to beleive in thier GOD is the day i join the crusade till then i will focus, assist, motivate and push for any effort to protect me from these radical islamic nut jobs
Posted by screen_ident at 05:23 PM : Nov 10, 2007,,,
Christian extremist are just as bad as Islamic extremist and the U.S. will suffer the consequences for failing to separate Muslim militants from the vast majority of Muslims!
Christian conservative fundamentalists are becoming increasingly radicalized, desperate, and marginalized. Given their philosophy of imposing their morals and history of intolerance, they could be behind future terrorist acts. They already have a history of some assaults and bombings.
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the whole liberal masses are bogged down trying to play this delussional ''what if'' scenarios when brutal reality is inching up thier arses in real time.
ahh the dreamy liberals
Posted by MityWhity at 07:30 AM : Nov 10, 2007,,,
You make an excellent point, because a true American in the real sense of the American Spirit would feel the same "balanced" way about all religions no matter which religion was involved. One of the core building blocks of the United States itself was to establish religious freedom or even no religion at all and the main reason so many immigrated here. Many people with bad intentions and personal agendas have hijacked both Islam and Christianity and given them both a bad name! You can never go wrong or get on the wrong road being true to American values and the American Spirit which is freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and tolerance in those things in groups and others and its what makes Americans who we are and separates Americans from everyone else. If some in America want something else they should go somewhere else!
Posted by brianbwb at 06:02 AM : Nov 10, 2007
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there are more muslims than white US americans. It was not the KKK or the Aryan Brotherhood that brought down the WTC but those sand **** ers. so i guess we are profilling the right people
they lose
Posted by terrorislam5 at 05:46 PM : Nov 09, 2007
You really are one of the dumbest people that have ever posted here. Do you really think that an entire race, species, ideology - whatever the hell they are - can be eradicated from the face of the earth?
Dumb - I mean really, really dumb. I''m surprised you can even turn the computer on.
Posted by hungry1968 at 05:52 PM : Nov 09, 2007
how dumb is fascist nazi terrorislam for wanting to eradicat all the non muslims,,, wake up,,,
dont you just hate these stupid silly little fascist nazi terrorislamic muslims pretending to be liberal Americana,,, and begging for the usa to leave iraq,,, lol,,, they must be really getting their arses kicked,,, hahahahahaha,,,
and these fascist nazi terrorislamic muslim collaborators,,,